RayC

If only we had a codified constitution then the right to hurl racist abuse at random passers-by could be added as an amendment.

What exactly are you objecting to? 1) The method of killing? 2) The fact that it is a public place? 3) The numbers involved? 4) A combination of the above? 5) Something else? Re 1) and 2) As I stated previously, imo the killing of animals by slitting their throats before stunning them should be outlawed, as should the mass killing of animals outside of an abattoir. I also don't think that there should be a religious 'opt-out' clause. However, if there is an 'opt-out' it should be applied to all religions. That's only consistent and fair, don't you think? Re 3) What's an acceptable number then? Re 4) and 5): ?

I also agree with the ban, and your call for consistency. However, as @stevenlimplies animal welfare and (environmental) health concerns are not the main issues here.

Dear me. That is a spin that Pravda would have been proud of during the Cold War years: There is no logical way to interpret that piece other than the author (Putin) believes that Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are one nation. You'll be telling me next that the USSR consisted of national republics which were free to disagree with the Kremlin during the Stalin years. In your final paragraph, you use "we". Are you Russian?

Quite emancipated. They appear to reside in California.

Nice to be able to finally agree about something

Sigh ...... What a pathetic response.

He's the world's bogeyman.

Thanks Hardly "embarrassing NATO propaganda". Straight from the horse's mouth. https://www.prlib.ru/en/article-vladimir-putin-historical-unity-russians-and-ukrainians Not the first time that I have posted this or another official Kremlin link stating similar.

This is becoming a habit. Once again, we are in agreement: This has been done to death. Oh well, it couldn't last. We all know the reasons: Basically, it is down to Putin's refusal to allow Ukraine to look to Brussels, rather than Moscow, for its' economic future, combined with Putin's belief that Ukraine is not a sovereign state but merely part of a Greater Russia.

That's a good idea. Trump can go to Alaska while Putin, Zelenskyy and VDL meet in, say, Oslo.

No need for your President's involvement then.

Maybe a Russian land grab wouldn't be such a bad thing after all?

Sadly, I have to agree (although in this conflict, the only agitation that Zelenskyy is guilty of is trying to repel an invader)

Compensation is one thing and might be open to discussion, the transfer of ownership and/or control of land is a completely different matter.

Are you in favour of residents of Jumilla being able to celebrate St. Martin's Day by ritually slaughtering animals outside of abattoir?

I agree that an abattoir is the appropriate place to slaughter animals and I'm surprised that Spain still allows slaughter to take place on a large scale elsewhere. On the positive side, pressure from animal welfare groups will probably mean that the practice is outlawed throughout the EU in the near future (it is in the UK). I also agree that the ritual slaughter of an animal by slashing the throat before stunning it is a quite revolting practice which belongs to the Middle Ages. Outlawing this practice will, unfortunately, take much longer. However, this has nothing to do with Muslims playing the racism card as you suggest and everything to do with followers of Islam AND Judaism playing the religious freedom card.

Your conclusion is spot on.

Is that the reality? There are two issues here, (1) The holding of religious celebrations in municipal facilities (2) The places and methods used to slaughter animals. Wrt (1) why shouldn't municipal facilities be used? I am an atheist but as long as I am not expected to participate, I can't see why the facilities shouldn't be used for Christmas parties, Eid and Passover celebrations, etc? Wrt (2), is the government saying that the facilities can be used for the slaughter of animals? There are EU laws designating how and where the slaughter of animals should take place although there are exceptions to these rules. In any event, animal welfare regulations are - quite rightly imo - being tightened throughout Europe. Hopefully, fairly soon allowing religious groups exemption from these regulations will be a thing of the past. https://www.brusselstimes.com/924527/ban-on-unstunned-slaughter-belgian-muslim-and-jewish-communities-dismayed

Right. Maybe Trump can give away land belonging to the Baltic nations and other States which border Russia while he's at it in order to appease the Great Nationalist.

Nah. You keep him.

Did you get refused an EU grant for something? It's the only explanation that I can think of excessive abhorrence of the EU. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed and your eyes tightly closed and wish really, really hard that the EU collapses and you never know your luck although as a betting man, I can't think of many worse wagers.

What a man. There is an excellent podcast, '13 minutes to the Moon' about space exploration. The second series - eight, 45-minute episodes - is about Apollo 13. Well worth a few hours of anyone's time in my opinion. There are many excerpts of the actual communication between Lowell and Mission Control. How Lowell remained so calm is incredible.

You don't say!

😯 Please tell that you are joking! They are just about the most sickly-sweet creation known to man. Imo most of the main stream Belgian chocolate makers e.g. Leonidas, Neuhaus are good and excellent value for money. Pierre Marcolini and Wittamer are ok but vastly overpriced. Much better - and better value - are the smaller, local artisan chocolatiers e.g. Sigoji, although they are obviously harder to come by.